Al Rajhi eyes opening more female-only branches in Saudi

Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s second largest by assets, plans to increase the number of female-only branches this year from the existing 133 it operates in the Kingdom, chief executive Steve Bertamini told Reuters.

The bank, a major provider of vehicle loans, has also started operating a car showroom exclusively targeting women drivers, he said. Moreover, it plans to offer extended hours for women within existing car showrooms.

Al Rajhi aims to cash in on new economic opportunities in Saudi Arabia, following the introduction of wide-ranging economic and social reforms under the Vision 2030 economic diversification plan.

The new measures include the lifting of the longstanding ban on women driving, as well as a target to boost female employment to 30 percent from the current 22 percent.

Women’s increased economic activity is expected to push Al Rajhi Bank’s loan growth higher than the 4 percent expected for the sector in 2018, Bertamini  said. The bank’s loan growth was 3 percent in 2017.

Meanwhile, the lender is also looking at strengthening its position in the home loan segment. Al Rajhi one of the Kingdom's most prominent mortgage providers with 44 percent of the total mortgages last year

“There’s roughly SAR 200 billion of housing out there and the government is looking to increase that to SAR 500 billion by 2050, which implies big opportunities for the industry,” the CEO said.

As Saudi Arabia looks to attract investment under its reform plans, Al Rajhi has been one of the main beneficiaries of inflows of foreign funds into the Saudi Stock Market (Tadawul) this year, driven by the bourse’s possible inclusion in the MSCI and FTSE emerging market indexes.

“We captured 40 to 50 percent of this inflow, which shows the confidence in the market in general and the banking sector in particular” Bertamini said.

“I expect inflows to remain healthy for rest of 2018,” he added.